A. No; they were then practically edited by the public.
Q. Could not the public edit plays in the reign of Queen Victoria with the intelligence displayed in the days of "Good Queen Bess"?
A. It is impossible to say, as the question has not been tested by experiment.
Q. You say that your duty is to preserve the purity of the public taste; was that also the object of the earlier of your predecessors?
A. Seemingly not, as the office was called into existence to serve as a bar to the dissemination of opinions of an entirely political character.
Q. But that is not now the raison d'être of the appointment?
A. Oh, no; for nowadays, thanks to the newspapers, politics enjoys free trade.
Q. But still, the right of interference exists?
A. Yes, but it is only used to prevent a performer from "making up" as a Cabinet Minister, to the annoyance of the right hon. gentleman favoured with the attention.
Q. Is there any rule to guide the use of the official blue pencil?